A blog on philanthropy and nonprofit news and issues. A publication of Philanthropy Journal.

July 8, 2013

Leadership is about opening doors for others

Bill Treasurer

Leadership
is the most overanalyzed, thoroughly dissected, and utterly confused topic in
business. Many leadership experts, myself included, make the topic of
leadership far too complex, causing people to opt out of the chance to lead.

The
checklist that we’ve constructed for what it takes to be a leader gets longer,
more idealized, and more complicated, causing the expectations people hold of
leaders to keep shifting. We expect leaders to be bold and calculated,
passionate and reasonable, rational and emotional, confident and
humble, driven and patient, strategic and tactical, competitive and
cooperative, principled and flexible. It’s not humanly possible to be
all of those things.

After two
decades of contributing to the complexification of leadership, I recently
learned a simple but essential lesson about leadership from an unlikely person:
my 5-year old son Ian. Ian is a pre-schooler at The Asheville Montessori School
in Asheville, N.C., where we live. One sunny afternoon Ian came bounding up the
stairs proclaiming, “Guess what, Daddy? I got to be the Class Leader today!”

“Really?
Class Leader? That’s a big deal, little buddy. What did you get to do as the
class leader?”

Ian’s answer
was simple, funny, and in its own way, profound.

“I got to
open doors for people!”

In a matter
of 15 seconds, with seven simple words, Ian clarified what’s most important
about leadership.

Maybe more
people would opt in to the chance to lead if us leadership experts spent more
time highlighting the basic idea that leaders are simply creators of
opportunity for others: they open doors. Think for a moment about a leader whom
you greatly admire. Pick someone who has led you rather than someone on the
world stage. What do you admire about her? Did she open a door to an
opportunity where you could grow your skills or improve yourself, such as
asking you to lead a high-profile project? Did she help illuminate a blind spot
by giving you candid feedback that caused you to see yourself in a different
and more honest way? Did she build your confidence by asking for your
perspective, input, and ideas? Or did she openly advocate for your promotion,
showing you how much he valued you? What doors did she open for you?

My bet is
that the leaders you most admire are the ones who left you better off than they
found you by creating opportunities that helped you grow. How?

● By being
open to you, valuing your input and perspective.

● By being
open with you, telling you the truth even if the truth is difficult to
hear.

● By helping
you be receptive to new possibilities and experiences, and new ways of
perceiving and thinking.

My greatest
hope is that Leaders Open Doors will
cause more leaders to open more doors for the people they lead. I also hope
that the book itself opens doors for others. That’s why I’ve decided to donate
100 percent of the royalties I receive from sales of Leaders Open Doors to programs that support children with special
needs. It’s the best way of ensuring that the book lives its own message.

Plus, as a
father of a 9-year-old deaf girl who has cerebral palsy, I am keenly aware how
important it is to open doors of opportunity for these beautiful souls.